By Your Side At Any Price
by Lecanis
Summary: Certain patterns develop between partners over time. When Gau makes an effort to change one, is he biting off more than he can chew? If Raikou gives in and breaks his own rules... how will they move forward? RaikouGau, Warning: underage sex.
1. Chapter 1

By Your Side (At any price)  
Rating: Teen this chapter, Mature eventually 

At the beginning of a Wakachi mission... this is the moment when Gau shines. Before the judgement, before the sword falls and the blood splatters. When it's all just speculation, when someone somewhere implied that maybe this guy had done something wrong and someone ought to check it out.

Research. This is Gau's strength, adding 1+2+5 and getting 'innocent' or 'guilty'. Linking one piece of evidence to another and coming up with a full profile of the accused, the names and addresses necessary to find the full extent of the corrosion. It's a little like cleaning his mother's stove as a child, scraping away the grease that would get built up on the surface when she hurriedly cooked a meal and then ran off to her job.

During the actual 'judgement' phase, he is not quite so useful. There are times, when there are multiple targets or some unexpected interference happens, when his kunai draws blood. There are times when he distracts an enemy with something utterly foolish and instinctual like throwing his notebook at their head. Most of the time, however, he stands back and watches as his stronger counterpart moves forward to make the kill.

Watches, green eyes locked on every movement, taking in each flex of muscle, every serene smile, every slice of the sharp blade. Sometimes, his thoughts are busy analyzing, considering if Raikou is at his best on the particular day, if he could have been a touch faster, avoided some attack, more efficiently finished the work. Something, his thoughts are busy planning his next training session, making note to himself to remind Raikou to show him _this move_ or explain _that strategy._

Then, there are the days when his mind misbehaves, when his emerald eyes are watching for nothing more than pleasure. When the beauty of each movement, the sway of silken pink hair, the subtle shift of the fabric of the hakama, catch his eyes and hold them, trapped in dreams of his partner that will not - can not - come true.

These days are coming far more often, as he grows older, he's finding.

On all days, however, after the kill is made, when blade or blades are being wiped on clothing or grass, when the criminal's last breath has been drawn and the light is fading from their eyes, it's his turn again. He is swift and precise about collecting the necessary data, does not hesitate or pause to weep over the dead, to mourn his own innocence or lose his breakfast over the particular physical condition of a corpse.

(Those days are past for him, the first sight of uncoiling spilled intestines, the first kill of his own, the first shudder at having _known _and worked with someone they now must judge. These things are behind him, already. He's fifteen and has put away such foolishness.)

On this particular day, as with many days, the trip home to the suite they share, furnished by Hattori, is quiet and slightly breathless, as the adrenaline of what might have for a moment looked like a close call continues to course through the older and the younger partner equally. On this particular day, Gau has had to defend himself, if not attack, and his cream sweater vest is marred with dark blood.

It isn't going to come out. He's sure of it, and he grumbles over the fact as soon as they are done giving their report to their leader, unlocks the door to their shared suite, only to see Raikou hesitating.

It's going to be another one of those nights, he can tell, from the way Raikou's smile has turned up a notch, has become almost playful. From the way Raikou follows him in, slides off his shoes, and then immediately steps away from Gau, putting distance between them. The older teen - almost not a teen anymore, really - walks into the kitchen area, opens the fridge, closes it again.  
Making sure there is food for Gau to make for dinner. Making sure the boy won't have to order out or leave the suite by himself, before Raikou comes back in the morning.

There's a frown on the younger boy's face, and he attributes it to the ruined sweater, as he strips out of it and sends it directly to the trash. HIs dress shirt follows, also ruined, though his tie is set carefully aside, hung up in the laundry area beside the kitchen. He stands there, half-dressed and a little disgusted with the world, and waits for the words to come.

"Be sure you lock the door behind me."

There they are, the same as so many other evenings. On these nights, when Raikou's calm is slipping a little, when the samurai feels as if he isn't completely in control of himself, he goes out. Gau didn't ask, at first, during those first few months when they were learning to live with each other, starting to find their places. And when he finally had asked the question, he'd gotten 'you're a little young' for a while, and then finally, the explanation.

Now, standing between the kitchen and the laundry area, shoulders shifted away from Raikou as if his bare chest is something to be ashamed of, his mind flashes with images of the things that Raikou does on these nights out, with other people. Other adults, who know the score and don't mind a random hook-up with a pretty and dangerous man.

There's a flush that steals over his skin, and that's like every time too. Only this time he's half-dressed, and he knows that Raikou can see it, knows that his bare back - slight freckled and not as broad as he'd like - must hold the heat.

"Gau, did you hear me? Lock the door behind me, all right?" There's a worried tone, now, because the proper response is 'yes, Raikou-san' and he isn't saying it. Maybe Raikou will think that he was hurt after all, or that he's scared, or somehow traumatized?

Maybe he'll let Raikou think that, and Raikou will stay? And settle himself just out of arm's length, reading a book, and watch over Gau while he goes through his own post-mission rituals, until he goes to sleep. Then Raikou will either go out anyway, or he'll get that edgy caged-animal look in his eyes, until the next night, when he'll go.

Either way, eventually he'll go. Off to touch other people, release his emotions and his physical desires with some stranger who won't ever get his real name, most likely. Who certainly won't know or care about the reasons why. And Gau has never had reason to believe that Raikou wants it any other way, except that there's a wary look in Raikou's eyes and...

He tests it. Takes a step toward Raikou.

His partner, in turn, takes a step away. There's a flash of something in his eyes, there and gone, and then Raikou is turning his head, looking toward the door again.

Gau advances, again, this time, for the first time ever. And for the first time, he keeps his gaze steady on Raikou's face, reaches out to take hold of one tattooed arm, just above the metal bracelet.

"Stay with me tonight." 


	2. Chapter 2

This chapter was both later and shorter than expected, because the thought/decision process got too long to have the next part in the same chapter. And I got sick. And caught up in RP, again.

By Your Side (At any price)

Rating: NC-17 (not really yet this chapter, but definitely next)

Summary: The relationship between partners begins to crack and form anew...

Chapter 2

There's a moment of silence, of stillness. Their fancy suite is nearly soundproof, really, leaving not even outside noises to interfere. There's a slight shift - Gau isn't sure if it's his own movement or Raikou's - that causes a soft rustle of cloth.

Verdant eyes battle russet ones. It's a fight to the death, for something anyway. For the barriers between them. For Gau's innocence, or what is left of it after almost two years worth of hunting and killing and taking 'proof'. For the status quo of their relationship, which says that Raikou goes out and Gau stays home and they talk about it as little as possible.

The fabric of Raikou's arm band is soft, but there's a hard edge underneath it. Hidden weapons inside. Like Raikou himself, with his pretty pink hair and his bad fashion sense and keen blade.

The hand that covers Gau's own a second later is warm and strong. He closes his eyes at the feel of it, and he wonders if that means he's lost the battle of wills, or won it. He can't ask, doesn't know how to ask, so he simply waits for a voice to come with the touches.

It doesn't. A long moment passes, and there's nothing but Raikou's hand on his own, the slight movement closer of the older teen's body, the imagined sound of his own heartbeat slamming against the walls of the room, echoing and echoing like the drum he'd had as a child.

"Raikou-san?" he says finally, because he must break the silence, can not bear a minute more of not knowing, not being sure what is happening here.

The response comes immediately, in the form of a soft squeeze to his hand. "Do you truly mean what I think you mean with those words, Gau? Will you really give me even that, after all I have taken from you?"

The boy takes a deep breath, opens his eyes slowly, turning them back up to Raikou's face. Raikou seems so tall, some days, like it's such a long way to drag his eyes up there. He takes a few seconds just to look, that familiar face with the cool features, the warm eyes... except there's a swirling of desire and confusion in them now that isn't quite as familiar.

Gau offers a smile, nods firmly. "I want you to stay here with me, and let me do...whatever it is that you need. I'm not stupid, I know what I'm offering. All I ask is that you let me sleep in your bed, after, and hold me." _What am I getting into? Do I really want my first time to be like this? But...for Raikou-san... _

"Please stay."

He can see the hesitation on his partner's face, but he holds his own expression steady, keeps his gaze locked with Raikou's. He stands very still, refusing to give away his own nervousness any more than he has to. And he knows that Raikou can feel it, that his partner knows him better than anyone.

There's another battle going on, behind Raikou's eyes. Gau can see it, and he knows now that it is beyond his ability to affect it any further. Raikou has retreated into himself, Gau's words and his own desires swirling inside him. Gau can see it, and a part of him begins to wonder whether those desires - for him, for Gau specifically, not just a body to bury himself in - have existed long, will continue to exist past this evening.

He has no control, here. He has to wait.

And yet when Raikou breaks, when Raikou's shoulders move slightly forward and in, when his fingers go slack against Gau's hand, when he slides his feet back out of the shoes that he had just set them back into ... Gau knows that whatever power he has, it is enough.

A soft smile comes to his features. He doesn't know where to go from here, doesn't know what the next step is. Should he kiss Raikou? Touch him? Help him out of all the extra clothes that he's wearing? He's got some idea what happens during sex, he isn't a child after all, but he doesn't know what his role is, in something like this that is and isn't about sex.

Isn't more than is, he believes, as Raikou's hand reaches for his chin, tilts it down and away, forcing Gau to turn his head. "Finish getting undressed, Gau. In my bedroom. Wait there." The tone is warm, soft, when it says his name. But the rest of the words are cooler, darker somehow.

Raikou's voice belongs to all things that grow in dark shady corners, all the hidden crevices of the world. Nabari itself, perhaps.

There's no pleasure in it for Gau, in that tone, no promise of pleasure at all. And yet... he closes his eyes, nods against the pressure on his chin, and goes to follow the instruction.

His bare feet make no noise at all on the floor. His small form takes up so little space, in their suitet, as he steps from one room to another. Yet his heart feels swelled huge, pounding and pounding inside him. The drum, of course, but it has become another type of drum altogether. Not a child's toy, but a drum of war, or perhaps a funeral drum. Or maybe, just maybe...

The drum of a shaman summoning a spirit. Slow and deliberate at first, creating the trance. And then fervent, reverent, appealing. And then... hard, heavy, hot, as the spirit overtakes the body and all sense is lost...

Maybe, Gau muses, as he carefully folds his pants and sets them aside on the dresser, he's been watching too much National Geographic again.

Maybe, he muses further, as he does the same for his plain white briefs, he's trying to put himself in a state of trance, to distance himself for whatever is about to happen. He's not, after all, in this for the experience itself. He wants what will come afterward, the promised arms around him, the fact that his partner will not leave him to sleep alone, tonight.

When it happens, it's almost too fast for him to keep up with it. One moment he's standing there in the cool indoor air, his body prickling with goosebumps, staring at Raikou's bed - neatly made, of course, and not by Raikou - and the next moment there are hands on his arms from behind, a warm nude form pressing up against him, and those soft words at his ear.

"Don't turn around."


	3. Chapter 3

By Your Side (At any price) Chapter 3  
Rating: NC-17  
Summary: When Gau breaks a pattern, will he bite off more than he can chew?  
Warning: Sex. Further warning, not very _ sexy _ sex.  
Note: No, this isn't the end of the story. Really, it's just the beginning.

_ "Don't turn around."_

The stubborn part of Gau immediately wonders just what will happen if he does; if he turns around and looks Raikou right in the eyes. Demands... something, anything. Some sort of recognition of just who he is, some acknowledgement that Raikou isn't pretending he is someone else. One of his random men (or women, does he take female lovers as well?) from the club or wherever it was he picks them up.

He is tempted. And Raikou must feel it, perhaps a twitch in his muscles, perhaps a slight turn of his head that doesn't get anywhere at all before he halts it. However it is that his partner is tipped off, Gau finds a hand slipping off his arm, moving up to catch at his jaw, holding just tight enough for him to feel _ pressure, _ not quite enough to hurt.

"Gau, if you want to back out of this, you can. But if you look at me, I can't do it. So please don't."

And all of the fight goes out of the younger teen, just like that. Because Raikou's voice is warm, at first, struggles to find the same cool tone the original words held. This isn't _ easy _ for Raikou, isn't what Raikou wants with him or what he would choose with him... he is staying because Gau asked. He is taking this because _ Gau _ offered.

"It's all right," Gau replies, far more calmly than he feels. There is a slight tremble through his form, as he leans back against Raikou a little, the contact oddly soothing even now. In fact, when he speaks again, his voice comes out even stronger, firm and steady.

"I just want to be whatever you need, tonight. Honestly, anything at all, just... tell me what you need me to do."

"I need you to... stop talking."

He knows Raikou doesn't mean the words the way they sound, it's obvious. That little catch in his voice, that pause... they say more than the words themselves, mean more. Raikou needs him to be quiet, for the same reason that he needs him not to look. Gau knows. Gau understands. Gau created this whole situation, didn't he?

He closes his eyes, gives a little nod, and the hand on his chin is there just long enough to feel it, and then drifts away, drifts down his body, slowly. The touch there surprises Gau, the gentleness of it, the way Raikou's fingers slip over his smooth skin, brushing so lightly. Down the center of his chest, over his belly, then the hand stops... and Gau can _ feel _ a shiver go through the man behind him as the light touch nears more intimate places.. and trips away, upward again.

Is it that hard for Raikou to touch him there? Is it that taboo, as partners, that wrong? Gau wants to ask, but Raikou needs him to be quiet, and this is all about what Raikou needs. Only about what Raikou needs, about Gau somehow giving Raikou this thing that he needs so that he can _ stay._ So that he doesn't have to go get it elsewhere.

Another pass, over the same territory, though the fingers brush against a nipple and skitter away this time, hastily. The chest against Gau's back feels warmer... as if there's a flush on the man's skin... but surely Gau is imagining, isn't he? Surely... no, Raikou isn't blushing over him.

Maybe not. But there's a definite flush to Gau's skin now, spreading across his entire body, as those light touches make another movement downwards, through the tiny bit of hair that is attempting to create a trail toward Gau's groin, spreading and thickening as it reaches it. But Raikou's fingers halt, tangled in the tuft of hair at the base of Gau's soft member, not quite touching the flesh itself.

The younger teen bites his lip in frustration, draws in a slow calming breath. All Raikou is doing is making him more nervous, working him up more. It's not appealing, not arousing, this teasing, because it's not _ teasing _ so much as _ hesitation_... and Gau doesn't know how he knows that, but he does _ know _ it.

Still, he is silent. He gives Raikou a little longer, waits less-than-patiently while Raikou makes another pass, slips his hand away this time to brush over Gau's thigh, to move outward over his hip, to rest itself there for a moment, the fingers fluttering, nervous.

Then, when the hand doesn't begin to move again, Gau takes matters in his own hands. Figuratively, not literally, because literally he's still letting his arms dangle at his sides, letting Raikou have full control and not turning around, not speaking, not moving. Doing what he's been asked.

Until he shifts his hips back, just a little, just enough to bring his butt in contact with what the movement confirms is a completely soft cock. He frowns, gives a little shift, causing friction between their bodies.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure you have to be hard for this to happen. So if you're not getting anything out of touching me that way, stop doing it."

His voice comes out flat, dry. Not the sort of voice he uses for grocery lists or facts about their work with the Wakachi or... anything else, really. It's far less excited than that.

Silence follows the words, and then... breath against his ear, coming out in a little puff that is almost a laugh. There's a fond note to Raikou's voice as he speaks, something far more personable (and personal) than anything that has passed his lips in the last few moments. "Step forward and get up on the bed for me then, on your knees. And... tell me if I go too far."

_ Stop saying that. Stop qualifying. Stop trying to change my mind. I've already decided._

But Gau doesn't say any of those things. Instead, he simply waits for Raikou's hands to fall away from him, and steps forward, places himself on Raikou's pristine bed (the sheets smell so nice and clean, because Gau just washed them, just made the bed so carefully this morning...) on his hands and knees, his breath going a little shaky as he realizes just how vulnerable the position makes him feel.

No one should be looking at him like this, not just nude but bent forward like this, his limp dick hanging down between his legs, his butt in the air, his thighs shaking, just slightly. No one should be seeing him this way, and yet he can feel his partner's eyes on him, can feel something almost... measuring in that gaze.

And then there's a dip to the bed, and a familiar sword-calloused hand, resting just in the middle of his back. And all the tension flows out of him, with just that touch, the nervousness seeping away finally, all the worry over what is going to happen here just... flowing away. Because now, that touch is firm and sure, not hesitant.

Raikou, despite what he said earlier, has only _ now _ made up his mind.

This belief is confirmed for Gau as the heat of Raikou's skin moves closer, as the man bends over his body, one hand appearing on the bed beside Gau's own arm. If _ Gau _ had been the one trying to pretend his partner was someone else, it would have been shattered, because the tattoo around the forearm is distinctive, definitely.

But Gau is not trying to pretend any such thing, thankfully. In fact, what Gau wants to do is shift his hand over to rest on top of the one next to it, to clasp his fingers around Raikou's reassuringly.

He doesn't do it. Because it's not his to do, not until Raikou tells him so. This isn't about him. He reminds himself of that again, firmly, and is as still as he can manage, waiting.

He doesn't have to wait long at all. In fact, the next movement comes so quickly and so harshly that he cries out; the bite against his neck isn't the worst pain he's ever felt in his life, by a long shot, but it's sudden and it's _ Raikou _ and he doesn't know how to feel about it, at all. There's no blood, but then a second later the man's other hand is wrapping around his hip again... and the nails that sink in do indeed wind up with blood beneath them. The slight wetness against his skin is worse than the pain itself, Gau thinks, because it's proof that...

Yes, Raikou will do him harm.

Gau shudders, but he's careful this time to be quiet, not to voice his surprise or the slight sliver of fear working its way through him.

The harsh touches continue for a long moment, more bites and scratches across his pale smooth skin, drawing little gasps from him. There's no pleasure at all in it for Gau, but... the stiffening of the member bumping against his rear end tells him that isn't the same for Raikou, that in fact, it's pleasurable for the other man.

_ That's what I'm here for, to take care of you._

So he simply bears with it, clenches his fingers into the sheets and waits for Raikou to move on, wondering idly if his partner has decided to only take pleasure in him this way, if maybe the samurai will rub against his backside and maul him until he finds his completion.

He knows better than to believe it is true, but it's a tempting little fantasy. In fact, he lets himself get lost in it, while Raikou's hand begins to move over his body, scraping nails over his front now as well, the same areas he'd touched so hesitantly earlier now being marked without pause.

It's surreal, how no words pass between them, how no explanation is offered up. Raikou is always hesitant with facts about his own life, is never open or honest with Gau about his past... in fact, the teen is pretty sure that most of what he knows is lies. On the other hand, Raikou is always open about teaching Gau things, about explaining his actions, his strategies, his methods... for anything but this. In this, he is silent, taking without offering anything, without explaining anything.

He still doesn't touch Gau's cock. Not once. And the younger teen's member remains flaccid against his thigh, waiting for a touch that doesn't come, for a pleasure that isn't offered. In fact, it remains so long after Raikou's touch becomes more intimate, after slickened fingers begin to probe in places that Gau has never been touched before, at all.

He doesn't know what to think about that; though he knew what he was offering when he offered it, somehow he hadn't expected this... blankness, in himself. How he isn't the slightest bit aroused, despite the fact that... he'd known that his feelings for Raikou bordered on what might be called a crush.

Thankfully, despite the earlier roughness, Raikou is being careful not to cause any harm, using plenty of lube and taking the time to work him open with fingers first. Gau has never done this before, no, but he's read enough to know that if not done carefully, it could cause a lot of damage, and while he's willing to have that happen, if Raikou needs it... he's glad too that Raikou doesn't need it.

By the time Raikou is actually entering him, he's almost used to the feeling: almost. He holds himself as still as he can, tries to ignore the bruising pressure of the grip on his hips, and reminds himself to breathe, both hands twisting the sheets between his fingers.

He does not cry out. In fact, the act is oddly quiet, nothing but the noise of skin slapping against skin, rough panting. Not the sort of sex people complain about hearing their neighbors having, not the sort of vicious scream-filled encounter that Gau himself has imagined Raikou's affairs as being.

When Gau comes, finally, it's a weak spurt of fluid that splatters against his belly, drips slightly onto the bed, from a member that never truly got fully hard. It's only afterward that he realizes how extremely sensitive the orgasm has made him, and _ then _ the scream comes, as Raikou continues to smash against his hyper-sensitized prostate and he's downright twitching and jerking with the pressure, the simulation.

And just like that, everything stops. A hand presses into the middle of Gau's back, gentle but firm, and the length that's been working him open and filling him up slips out. There's a slick slide against his cheeks, and then more thrusting, friction against his backside as Raikou simply humps himself to completion, sprays thickly over Gau's skin.

And honestly, all Gau can think is _ thank the gods _ and _ eww _ pretty much simultaneously.

Silence follows, for a long moment, Raikou leaned over him on the bed, bodies still close, practically stuck together with the stickiness between them. Gau is still, starting to regain his composure, nearly able to catch his breath now that it's over...

And then, still silently, Raikou moves away.

"NO!"

It's the first protest he's made, this whole time, isn't it? Surely it's not selfish of him to hold Raikou to his part of the bargain, to make Raikou stay with him. Just stay, that's all he's asking, and Gau doesn't realize that there are tears in his eyes or that he's panicking until a warm hand reaches down, brushes fingers through his dark curls.

"Getting a rag to clean you off, Gau. You don't want to sleep like that."

Of course, of course. Raikou is taking care of him now, as he promised. It's going to be just fine, and he'll get to sleep in Raikou's bed (he's always wanted that, hasn't he?) and then he can wake up in the morning and make breakfast and everything will go back to normal.

The optimism of youth tells him this must be so.

And a few moments later, cleaned off and wrapped up in Raikou's arms, warm blankets against his bare skin and pink hair drifting across his cheek, he believes it with every beat of his heart as he drifts off to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

By Your Side (At any price) Chapter 4

Rating: M

Summary: When things change between partners, can they hold it together, or will they lose what trust was between them? The more things change...

Warning: Awkwardness, immaturity?

When Gau awakes, there are strong arms wrapped around his slight form, tight enough that he feels quite restricted, unable to simply slip out of the bed and go about his day. He isn't sure how he feels about this, because now that it's morning and he feels sore and bruised and slightly itchy with scabbing scratches, he really just wants to get up and dress and go make breakfast and have things be normal again.

But Raikou is...

And when Gau looks over, he realizes that his partner is awake, clutching him this tightly. Not asleep. Not dreaming of someone or something else, but looking right at him with worry in his russet eyes and pain written all over his face.

"Good morning," Gau says softly, when what he really wants to say is 'don't look at me like that' or 'it's okay' or something. But none of those things want to come out of his mouth, and he's not sure how to make them, as if he's forgotten how to create the proper words.

He blushes, brightly, and gentle settles a hand on Raikou's chest, gives the slightest of pushes, trying to make it clear that he wants free but isn't angry. He doesn't want his partner to be pained by this, when the entire point of thing had been to take care of Raikou.

"You're crushing me a little, Raikou-san."

That '-san' is still firmly in place, is still necessary, despite the fact that they are lying in bed together, naked, still smelling of sex. In fact, it's that '-san' that makes this all right for Gau, allows him not to feel as if he has perhaps broken his own heart in some way. Because the nearness of Raikou, here in the morning light, makes his heart pound in a way that it hadn't the night before. Now that Raikou is looking at him, at Gau, in a personal manner... he's still attracted to this man, still wants him.

Which is why he's relieved when Raikou laughs, pulls away. There's a wry tone to his older partner's voice as he speaks, and though the worry is still there, there's something lighter about his expression as well.

"I'm making breakfast today," Raikou declares, playfully.

Gau's stomach turns over at the the very idea, remembering the last time Raikou made him breakfast. It wasn't that his partner didn't know how to cook, but just that sometimes, he got as random with his ingredients as he did with his wardrobe... and that was never a good thing.

"No, no! Here, see, I'm up! I'm just going to take a quick shower!" Just like that, Gau bounces out of his partner's bed, despite the slight ache that persists, despite the strange feeling in his body from new exertions. Just like that, Gau gives up the warm rest against the older man's form that had been his 'price' for last night's activities. Just that quickly, it's done.

Perhaps they won't talk about it again. Or perhaps, the next time, he'll ask the same thing. He doesn't know yet. He can't think about those things, because if he lets himself think about them, they will consume him. This isn't about him, the teen reminds himself firmly, and whatever his partner needs from him will be what he becomes, as it has been since this man saved his life.

By the time the boy is dressed and in the kitchen cooking, he feels almost normal. There hasn't been some kind of magic change to his mind or body that says he's no longer a virgin, after all, and the physical aches are no worse than a particularly rigorous round of training, if not in quite the same spots. He's a little quieter than normal as he moves around the kitchen, but the classical music coming out of the stereo on the countertop covers for that, and there's nothing to say that it's anything other than a normal morning.

He's grateful for the fact that, as Raikou enters the kitchen and takes his seat, he doesn't move to take over Gau's task, and doesn't speak of the night before.

In fact, nothing at all is said about it, until the dishes are cleared away, until they're sitting at that same table with laptops, notebooks, and file folders, passing notes back and forth and putting together the latest reports for Hattori.

"Are you sure that you're all right?" Raikou asks, his tone almost wary, as if knowing that broaching the subject might be asking for trouble.

"If I say no, do I get out of training for the day?" Gau asks, in his best childish-hopeful tone, his green eyes sliding toward his partner's face, taking in the fact that those familiar russet eyes are glued to the screen and not facing him at all.

"Perhaps." There's a twitch of lips that accompanies the single word, and a flutter of lashes that might be a wink.

"There is this awful pain right in my..." Gau begins, but he can't seem to maintain seriousness, and bursts into laughter before he can get the word 'ass' out at all.

"Brat!" The older partner is swinging a book at his head lazily before he can check the reaction, and they both laugh, as Gau manages to fall out of his chair trying to avoid it. And maybe, just maybe, it's a little on purpose, but the renewed twinge in his lower half is definitely worth it for the way Raikou's face breaks out in a smile as he reaches out to help the boy up.


	5. Chapter 5

By Your Side (At any price) Chapter 5

Rating: M

Summary: When things change between partners, can they hold it together, or will they lose what trust was between them? The more things change...

Warning: Nothing in particular, lead-up to sex for next chapter, possibly?

Time is a strange and wonderful thing. Or perhaps, Gau thinks, it's not just the time but the fact that he always has things to do. It doesn't take long at all for him to feel like he's back to his old routine, working hard to learn so many things about the secret world in which he now lives, working to uphold justice, and doing the more menial tasks of cleaning that he enjoys so much. He sleeps in his own bed, alone, and if he's right back to pressing his face against Raikou's pillow and inhaling his scent before he strips his partner's bed to wash sheets, that's only normal, right?

Nights pass, judgements pass, blood washes over and around Gau in the same way it has since he joined this Nabari world. There's never any moment where Raikou looks at him with that same passion or fear in his gaze, though there's a sadness there sometimes that Gau thinks wasn't before.

Raikou doesn't go out. Oh, he runs his own personal errands and goes to visit friends, but Gau can tell the difference. There's a certain tension before that kind of _going out_ and Gau never sees or feels it.

It's starting to make him a little nervous, actually. He doesn't know if something has changed, or if Raikou is simply keeping a tighter rein on himself. Doesn't know how to interpret such a thing, knows he can't ask. Raikou, in fact, is treating him more like a kid than ever, as if somehow trying to restore Gau to an innocence that he can't get back, shielding him just a little more than usual. His hands are extra gentle when he places a bandaid on a minor cut received while training, and there's a quiet apology in the way he touches Gau's shoulder with only his fingertips when he nudges him toward a turn while walking together.

That touch irritates Gau so much. Fingertips, barely there, hesitant. It takes weeks for it to happen, but it does, and it smashes Gau's feeling of sameness, normality, being okay. It makes him crave something different, makes him want to climb into Raikou's bed and wait for him there, or perhaps stay several steps away at all times to prevent any touch at all.

He isn't sure which he wants, that's the problem. He isn't sure whether a connection that is_ less_ than the romantic one he's built up in his head would be worthwhile, or if he'd rather take those couple of steps back. Perhaps suggest even that Raikou _go out_, that it might make him feel better. What he does know, what he has always known and will always know, is that he never wants to be more than those couple of steps away.

He'll be by Raikou's side, in some way, until the day that he dies or Raikou forces him away, through more violence than he believes his partner would ever inflict on him. (But he had, hadn't he? Gau had worn some of those scratches for over a week.)

The fury that boils up in Gau is a slower rage than normal. Not the flying-off-the-handle immediately, but perhaps something more like Raikou himself. Holding, holding, holding, until he can't anymore. He's very nearly there, on a particularly gray evening, walking through too-quiet streets in pursuit of yet another mark.

It's Raikou who beats him to it, as it happens. Not because of anything in particular, this time. Not because of a close call, or a messy kill, or even finding the person they were looking for. This night, in fact, justice hasn't been done. There's nothing but a threat of rain, a solemn heavy-clouded sense, damp clinging to Gau's dark curls as they walk.

And yet.

There's that barely-there touch at his shoulder, those fingertips lightly prodding him toward home, never grasping or closing over as they once had. And then there's a soft voice, too soft, too controlled.

"When we get home, I'm going out."

There's a pause, as Gau considers whether he's supposed to respond to that. It's not his to decide, not his place to argue over such a personal thing. And the strange battle between them in the entryway doesn't seem likely to happen again, not in quite the same way, a singular occurrence.

And yet.

"Unless."

It's a single word, said firmly and quietly. And for the first time in weeks, Raikou's hand _does _close over Gau's shoulder, hold on, bringing him up short on the sidewalk, one foot paused comically in the air for a second before it falls to rest beside the other.

Even now, Gau is not entirely still, despite the weight of the words pressing him down. He's restless, wanting to move, wanting to take quick shuffling steps, carry that new weight forward into whatever the next moment will bring. He scuffs his shoes against the sidewalk, twists his fingers together awkwardly.

He licks his lips before he speaks, mouth feeling oddly dry. Suddenly, he realizes, the slow-boiling rage has left him, fled in a second under the realization of how very _hard_ this is for Raikou, and how much Gau himself has created that conflict. (No, not created it, only dragged it kicking and screaming into the light of day, after his partner had attempted to hide away that desire. He knows this, but it's hard to believe, sometimes.)

He hasn't managed an answer, and he knows he must, or the moment will pass. It's like a real battle, that way. There's only a particular window to make the strike, when the opponent's guard is down, and missing it can be fatal. What would die Gau isn't sure, but he does know that if he turns Raikou down this time, the (unasked) question won't come around again.

"When we get home," he begins, careful to keep his voice very even. He doesn't look back at Raikou, but he doesn't need to. The sight of his partner's face is the first thing he sees when he closes his eyes, the image that pervades most of his dreams, the tiny doodle in the corner of every sheet of paper in his personal notebook, the one no one sees. He doesn't need to look, can visualize that pained expression, that hesitation, that desire. Even the remembered image is enough to take his breath away.

"When we get home," he tries again, "I intend to undress and wait in your bedroom."

The fingers tighten almost painfully against his shoulder and then are gone, so quickly that he feels almost like he imagined the reaction. Raikou doesn't offer any answer to that at all, and there's the strangeness of it again. No explanations, no teaching, no training. This isn't something that Raikou is readying Gau for the future with, this is for himself, and that's not something that the samurai can talk about.

Gau knows.

And the answer, when it comes, is the simplest thing of all: Raikou's shoes sliding off his feet just inside the door, his bare feet against the floor of their home, a sure sign he is indeed _staying._


	6. Chapter 6

In this chapter: More unsexy sex, intercrural, something unexpected happening.

They don't enter the room together. Gau has stated his intention, and Raikou leaves him to it, perhaps sensing that Gau needs to make a ritual of it to calm himself. The teenager walks into his partner's room with steady steps, begins to undress slowly, the door closed and his attention solely on what he's doing.

He's already thinking about how uncomfortable he was last time, during and afterward. How much it had hurt when he'd finished before Raikou had, when the pressure inside him became overwhelming in the aftermath of his orgasm.

The thoughts don't cause any change in his actual actions, of course. He's already made his decision. So by the time the door opens, Gau is positioned on the bed just as he had been before, exposed and vulnerable, on his knees.

At least this way, they won't have the awkward battle over Raikou's hesitation, he thinks.

It works well enough. When his partner enters the room, Gau hears nothing but a slight rustling of clothing, no speech at all, the steps nearly silent against the floor.

Raikou doesn't speak until he is bending over Gau, and Gau can feel bare flesh against his back. His partner must have been undressing as he walked across the room, and Gau hadn't been able to pick out the sounds through his own nervousness. He flushes at the thought, the image of Raikou so close against him, incredibly intimately. In another situation, it might be... but no, that doesn't bear thinking about either.

"Are you sure, Gau?" comes the quiet voice, and now there was something different in the tone. The last bits of Raikou's control, his restraint, are faltering. Yet still he asks.

"I'm sure," Gau says, and his own voice comes out very different. Not wavering, but firm. Affectionate. Devoted.

The only answer he receives is a soft kiss against his ear, before the same hands that had savaged him so last time begin to work.

Since the last time he was in this position, Gau has analyzed the experience quite thoroughly. He's thought about the fact that the scratches and bites are showy, drawing blood without causing much real damage. How they're all on the surface, and any actual blows - the slight slap of an open hand against his flesh - were carefully away from anything that could really be damaged by such. They're designed to let out Raikou's aggression without being dangerous, but... less controlled than what is necessary for Wakachi work.

It's all a very _careful _unleashing of energy, in the end.

Gau lets himself mull these things over even as Raikou is touching him, detaches himself from the sensations and focuses on thinking about the reasons why Raikou does it, the dark desires that life in the Nabari world has instilled in his partner. He thinks about how if Raikou were a different type of person, he could cause real harm with those desires, but he chooses instead of carry them out in muted ways with willing partners.

_This is why I follow him._

He's distracted out of his thoughts, finally, by a rather strange sensation: slick wetness being rubbed onto the inside of his thighs, Raikou's hands warm and almost gentle with the movement. He had been gentle like this the last time when he'd prepared Gau to be entered, but that's not what he's doing now, and the suddenness of the kinder touch is almost jarring.

Gau isn't supposed to speak, he knows that. For Raikou, this is easier if he doesn't have to think about the fact that it's his young partner under him, doesn't have to face what he's given into accepting from Gau.

Still, the teen can't quite stop himself from peeking back over his shoulder, making a quiet questioning noise. What he sees is something that he never fully looked at last time: Raikou, resting on his knees nearly at the edge of the bed, eyes blazing with lust and something quite a bit darker, slight hints of blood on his skin from the scratches on Gau's.

Gau can't bring himself to look fully on Raikou's nudity, to give more than a scant glance toward his erection. It would make this - for him - too much like real sex, like the kind of sex he imagines with Raikou, and that would complicate things too much. So he darts his eyes back up to Raikou's face, silently asking for an explanation about the awkward sensation between his legs, the hand stroking there just as if the inside of his thigh were a regular erogenous zone.

"Don't look," Raikou reminds him, and his voice is cool and firm enough that Gau automatically follows the command, turning his head and lowering it so that he's staring down at the sheets again. He wiggles a little, feeling awkward and like the spell is broken somehow, like he can't get back the blankness from before that made him able to handle this. Now he's just overheated and in minor discomfort from Raikou's rough touches.

He wants to apologize, doesn't allow himself to do so. He wants to ask questions, but that too... it's not about himself, he says firmly, in his own mind. But it doesn't matter, because the cool voice continues anyway, explaining.

"Trying something that won't hurt you. Press your legs together and move with me when I move, and if it doesn't work, I'll take care of the rest."

Gau's stomach has butterflies. He's always thought that was a stupid phrase, really, but his mind seems determined to use it in this moment. Raikou's voice is still impersonal, but his touch feels much more personal, and Gau has to force himself to stay silent, to simply give a little wag of his head in acknowledgement, to be still and let Raikou work.

When, a moment later, he feels Raikou leaning back over him again, his partner's erection pressing between his legs, he tightens his thighs against each other as he was instructed. Raikou slides one of his own hands down - there's a flash of ink in Gau's vision as he peeks backward at the motion - to rest on the outside of Gau's leg and press inward as well, forcing even more contact.

Then, Raikou begins to move, and Gau's calm has to be built up again from the beginning, one piece at a time, mental building blocks of rationality placed between himself and the almost pleasant sensation of Raikou rutting against him, the slick slide that brings no pain with it at all, the little jolt as the back of his balls are brushed by a slight upward thrust.

_This isn't for me, isn't for me, isn't for me._

But he does something now that he didn't dare to do before: he slides one hand down over his own body, still bracing himself with the other, and wraps it around his now-hardening dick.

He half-expects Raikou to slap his hand away, or protest, or stop and tell him this isn't working. He almost wants that, really. He _almost _regrets ever starting this, now, when he is reminded all over again just how much Raikou cares for him, just how much he desires for Gau to be comfortable and happy and never ever hurt by anyone.

But there's no word at all from the man behind him. It's become that same silence again, that same slap of flesh on flesh, the strange muted tone of what ragged gasps escape the two bodies moving together on the bed. At least this time, they are moving together, more so than before: Gau obediently rocks with Raikou's movements rather than simply trying not to fall over like last time.

This time, touching himself, Gau fully experiences the orgasm, crying out in pleasure and losing the rhythm, biting at his lip and shuddering and trying his best to get started moving again, so that the hard flesh still pressing between his thighs doesn't ever fully pull away. His senses ramp up a little just like before, but without Raikou actually inside him, it's almost a pleasant feeling too, a tingling that washes over his skin and causes _real_moans of pleasure.

When a slender hand reaches up to cover his mouth, he doesn't protest. And when he's pulled up and back so that he's basically sitting in Raikou's lap, he says nothing at all about that either. He simply lets it happen, until there's trembling and a sticky splash across his skin, and then...

Nothing. It's like they're frozen in place, Gau's mouth parted slightly behind Raikou's restraining hand, his slender form resting on Raikou's thighs, the older partner's wilting cock sliding out from between youthful pale thighs. Silence, nothing but breath and a tensing of muscles, a feeling of _wrongness_ that neither can articulate.


End file.
